San Diego (May 6, 2014) – The University of San Diego (USD) School of Law will confer 320 law degrees on Saturday, May 17, 2014 beginning at 8:45 a.m. at the university’s Jenny Craig Pavilion. Shelley Berkley, former United States Representative for Nevada’s First District and USD School of Law Class of 1976 (JD) alumna will deliver the commencement address to law school graduates.

Media parking is available in the parking lot next to the Jenny Craig Pavilion where the ceremony will take place.

USD Law Commencement

Quick Facts

The 2014 Law School Commencement marks the university’s 57th conferral of law degrees.

Juris Doctor (JD) graduates – 269

Master of Law (LLM) graduates – 47

Master of Science (MS) in Legal Studies graduates – 4

Former U.S. Congresswoman Shelley Berkley, ’76 (JD), will deliver the commencement address.

Highlighted Law School Graduates

David Barnes has been a linguist/translator for Guantanamo detainees throughout law school. He travels once per month to the detention center in Cuba and works with military justice lawyers. He has accepted a postgraduate position with the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office. Barnes received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of San Diego and a Master of Science from Troy University.

Jacob Ayres appeared on Jeopardy twice as a second-year law student. He is in the top 10 percent of the class and has accepted a position at Morrison & Foerster after graduation. Ayeres graduated from University of California, Los Angeles with his Bachelor of Arts.

Julie Hunter was an officer/president/founder of several student organizations and editor-in-chief of USD's International Law Journal this year. Her postgraduate position as a judicial law clerk to an immigration judge in Tacoma, Wash. is part of the highly selective Department of Justice Honors Program. Hunter graduated from Dickinson College with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

About the Commencement Speaker

Former United States Representative Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.), ’76 (JD), now serves as the CEO and senior provost of Touro College and University (Touro) System's western division, where she oversees the Nevada and California campuses.

Berkley was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1998 and represented Nevada's first Congressional District from 1999 to 2013. She was the first woman to serve the district and held the position for seven terms. Prior to her election to Congress, she served as a member of the Nevada State System of Higher Education's Board of Regents for eight years after serving in the Nevada State Legislature for one term.

During Berkley's 14 years in Congress, she served on the Transportation Committee, Small Business Committee, Veterans Affairs Committee, Foreign Affairs Committee, and the Ways and Means Committee. Berkley earned the title of "hardest working woman in politics" for her tireless work on issues including job creation, healthcare and renewable energy. She also was a champion for veterans, seniors, immigration reform and human rights. Among her most proud accomplishments was leading the efforts to construct the new Veterans Administration medical complex in southern Nevada and working with the California congressional delegation on important issues like protecting Lake Tahoe in northern California and supporting tourism in both states.

About the University of San Diego School of Law

Celebrating 60 years of alumni success, the University of San Diego (USD) School of Law is recognized for the excellence of its faculty, depth of its curriculum, and strength of its clinical programs. Each year, USD educates approximately 900 Juris Doctor and graduate law students from throughout the United States and around the world. The law school is best known for its offerings in the areas of business and corporate law, constitutional law, intellectual property, international and comparative law, public interest and taxation.

USD School of Law is one of the 81 law schools elected to the Order of the Coif, a national honor society for law school graduates. The law school’s faculty is a strong group of outstanding scholars and teachers with national and international reputations and currently ranks 23rd worldwide in all-time faculty downloads on the Social Sciences Research Network (SSRN). The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. Founded in 1954, the law school is part of the University of San Diego, a private, nonprofit, independent, Roman Catholic university chartered in 1949.